In a recent video, Steve Fambro mentioned dropping the seat height 50 mm (about 2"), and moving the seats about 25 mm (about 1") closer together. It would be cool to have a user-configurable option to control the height. Any vertical adjustment mechanism would be heavy, but alternative seat-mounts could be a popular money-maker, while keeping the weight fairly constant. Some shorter people could use more visibility and less headroom. (😃 asking for a friend).
In the April 12th Transport Evolved video, Chris says it will be 50mm lower (almost exactly 2"). Apparently he's 6'2, plus 2" means 6'4 will fit in the production car the way Chris fits in the prototype.
For reference, a Honda Civic has a 19” seat height and a 56” total height. A Mazda3 has a 21” seat height and 57” total height. So the Aptera total height is similar to most sedans, whereas a 16” seat height would be lower than typical and a 22” seat height would be slightly higher. They have said there should be enough room for a 6'8” person with a normal torso length.
So if I am 6'4" will I have ample enough headroom with these dimensions? 57 inches minus 22 inches would seem to say I have a 35 inch head clearance from the seat which seems very low.
The seat seems to be at an easy height to get in/out. In the pic, Chris is butt on seat, heel on ground, knee bent about 90 degrees. That's like sitting on a dining chair.
Are you guys sure about the 22" seat height? From the FAQ:
Q: How hard is it to get in and out of the vehicle? Need to know the distance off the ground from the front seat.
A: 16" seat height now but that may be a bit lower in production.
This seems pretty low to me and I'm wondering if the measurement of 16" is actually the 'height' of the seat from the bottom of the car, which would make the measurement more in line with your 22" 'ground to seat' measurement if the Aptera is roughly 6" off the ground.
Thoughts? 16" seat height is VERY low slung and while I like the low center of gravity and sense of speed sitting in a low seat like this, ingress and egress might be a tad difficult for those of us getting up there in years...
It is the wheel covers which are more like 5.5” ground clearance
The fine details with the off road kit has not been defined yet as it nay relate to your question...I believe Chris, who is featured sitting in the vehicle, is about 6’2””(???) if this all helps
With an over-all vehicle height of 57 inches, I used this picture to estimate the seat height of about 22 inches. So, the seat height should be close to the Camry. It makes sense since the Aptera height is about the same as most sedans.
to help big and disabled people with getting in car:https://www.aptera.us/forum/main/comment/6075d7b1a1befc001575e89b
seat design in this thread https://www.aptera.us/forum/main/comment/606a72fe8a8b0c001597cb78
https://www.aptera.us/forum/main/comment/60777d6f37a2a9001590ce75
In a recent video, Steve Fambro mentioned dropping the seat height 50 mm (about 2"), and moving the seats about 25 mm (about 1") closer together. It would be cool to have a user-configurable option to control the height. Any vertical adjustment mechanism would be heavy, but alternative seat-mounts could be a popular money-maker, while keeping the weight fairly constant. Some shorter people could use more visibility and less headroom. (😃 asking for a friend).
For reference, a Honda Civic has a 19” seat height and a 56” total height. A Mazda3 has a 21” seat height and 57” total height. So the Aptera total height is similar to most sedans, whereas a 16” seat height would be lower than typical and a 22” seat height would be slightly higher. They have said there should be enough room for a 6'8” person with a normal torso length.
So if I am 6'4" will I have ample enough headroom with these dimensions? 57 inches minus 22 inches would seem to say I have a 35 inch head clearance from the seat which seems very low.
The seat seems to be at an easy height to get in/out. In the pic, Chris is butt on seat, heel on ground, knee bent about 90 degrees. That's like sitting on a dining chair.
Are you guys sure about the 22" seat height? From the FAQ:
Q: How hard is it to get in and out of the vehicle? Need to know the distance off the ground from the front seat.
A: 16" seat height now but that may be a bit lower in production.
This seems pretty low to me and I'm wondering if the measurement of 16" is actually the 'height' of the seat from the bottom of the car, which would make the measurement more in line with your 22" 'ground to seat' measurement if the Aptera is roughly 6" off the ground.
Thoughts? 16" seat height is VERY low slung and while I like the low center of gravity and sense of speed sitting in a low seat like this, ingress and egress might be a tad difficult for those of us getting up there in years...
Dyee08 and others,
Thank you for the info. I think the 22" is about right.
Thanks again,
Al
With an over-all vehicle height of 57 inches, I used this picture to estimate the seat height of about 22 inches. So, the seat height should be close to the Camry. It makes sense since the Aptera height is about the same as most sedans.
I have only read or heard this partial info:
✅9” GC to belly pan
✅Seating ( which can relate to legroom) is comfortable for a 6’8” person.
Moving the seat back provide more height
But.... not everyone has the same leg and torso so ????